RESTAURANT REVIEW:

Any restaurant that paints “Cheapskates Welcome” on its front window will get my attention.

Plus I had time to kill. I was waiting for my motorcycle mechanic to get his lazy body out of bed and open his shop so I could drop off my Harley to get worked on before I headed out of town. Side Street Café was right across the street, so I figured I could read the newspaper and have a little breakfast.

Diane Beach has owned this place for 16 years, and it hasn’t changed much since she scrimped the money together to fulfill her dream of opening a restaurant.

It is small, but homey. The inside looks like a roadside diner you used to see all over this country before the chain restaurants swallowed them up. The room couldn’t be more than 900 square feet, and you are definitely going to get to know your neighbor with the tables as close as they are.

The tables are fairly uniform, but the chairs are not. They are all different styles and shapes and it gives the room a little extra charm.

The room is decorated with family photos of Beach’s children and grandchildren. There’s a picture collage of when Gracie fell. It is something you see on a kitchen refrigerator.

The photos as wall art was by design. The story is Beach, who was a single mother at the time, was on a budget and with the restaurant just about to open, she noticed the bare walls.

She ran home and grabbed photos of her children and put them up on the walls. She then went to thrift stores and garage sales and bought anything she thought was appropriate and hung it.

There are license plates from Texas, a poster that reads, “Poverty Sucks” and other knick knacks. A rusted tricycle is the dominate decoration, hanging from the ceiling in one of the corners.

The thrifty philosophy is evident with the breakfast and lunch menus, which are handwritten and then photocopied on colored paper. Drinks are served in mason glasses and the wait staff is Beach’s children and friends.

While many aspects of the restaurants are done on the cheap, the food is not, even if there is a spot on the menu for Cheapskate Specials.

Those specials for breakfast include two eggs, potatoes, toast and coffee for $6 and two hotcakes, two eggs, two bacon and coffee for $8.

I ordered the egg whites scrambled with spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes and squaw toast for $8.50.

The spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes were so fresh I didn’t even mind that I was eating just egg whites. Next time I order it, I would ask to add grilled onions in it.

The salsa that I asked for to add more flavor was zesty and fresh. It is made in the kitchen daily and was delicious.

A twist to this dish is the squaw toast, which can also be ordered as squaw French toast.

Omelets should definitely be ordered on a visit. They are filled with ingredients like avocado, chorizo and grilled shrimp. The chili cheese is made with homemade chili.

The breakfast menu blew me away with its breadth. There are dishes like fried egg sandwich, roasted corncakes and a veggie patty with grilled onions, tomatoes and jalapeños.

The menu includes soul food, like chicken-fried steak and homemade hash and eggs. The other section of the menu is for Mexican breakfasts and features huevos rancheros and a breakfast burrito.

Breakfast is served until 3 p.m. and it is a popular place. With limited seating, expect to wait if you sleep in like my mechanic.

ADDRESS: 1799 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa

PHONE: (949) 650-1986

CUISINE: American

SPECIALTY DISH: omelets

ALCOHOL SERVED: none

ENTRÉE PRICE RANGE: $5 to $9.50

FAMILY FRIENDLY: Yes

CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED: Cash only

RATING: ***

JOHN REGER is the Pilot’s restaurant critic. His reviews run Thursdays.